The jury selection process began on Monday in the trial of a young man accused of killing a baby four years ago. The state is seeking the death penalty in the trial that is expected to last about three weeks.

About 3:15 a.m., on the morning of May 5, 2009, Ms. Jasmine Bedwell contacted the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and reported that her boyfriend had taken her baby during a fight. Police responded to the North Tampa apartment and learned that Richard Anthony McTear, Jr., 25, had allegedly thrown 3-month-old Emanuel Wesley Murray, Jr., down on the concrete. McTear is alleged to have then picked up the infant and fled the scene in a vehicle.

Ms. Bedwell also told police McTear was hiding in her apartment when she returned home and had threatened to kill both her and her son.

Emanuel W. Murray, Jr

Around 4:30 a.m., that morning, a passerby discovered the infant on Interstate 275, southbound at Fowler Avenue. The preliminary investigation indicated that the infant had been thrown from a vehicle. The body was identified as that of the infant Murray, who had been taken from his mother’s apartment.

Police launched a manhunt for McTear. He was located hiding in the backyard of an apartment in the Robles Park Public Housing Complex and was taken into custody by the Tampa Police Department.

McTear was charged with several crimes including first-degree murder, felony battery, burglary with battery, aggravated child abuse and kidnapping.

As McTear was being escorted to jail, reporters yelled questions at him about the crime. His response was, ‘It’s a dirty game.’

McTear, who has been in the Hillsborough County Jail since his arrest on May 5, 2009, has entered a not guilty plea.